On a two month trip to Cuba I managed to wander around a tobacco farm. All the tobacco leaves here are sold to the government and made into one of the many famous cigars Cuba is known for. The leaf debris is not wasted. That goes on to make cigarettes.

Above: This plantation was in the Vinales district of Cuba. The curing sheds were the tobacco is hung to dry out were severely damaged in the hurricanes that hit the Caribbean and Latin America a month earlier.

Real Fabrica de Tobacos – Cuba 2006

Above: Tobacco factory in Havana, Cuba. No cameras are allowed inside but hundreds of people are employed here for about $15 per month hand rolling cigars to be exported all over the world an incredibly inflated prices. Typically a sngle Montechristo could set you back over £20 and a box of 25 could cost you over £500.

The factory produces around 30 different brands of cigar including Cohiba, Montechristo and Romeo Y Julieta using different or a combination of leaves for each brand.

The Cuban farmer, Me and my guide sit in a curing shed and pose with contrabound cigars.